Macedonians struggle to form new government

The 120-seat new Macedonian parliament on Friday held a session after recent elections in this Balkan country.

In the election on Dec. 11, the ruling Macedonian right-wing party VMRO-DPMNE and its coalition took 51 seats.

The opposition Social Democrats (SDSM) and its coalition won 49 seats. The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), the main ethnic political force, took 10 seats.

None of the parties has the majority of 61 seats needed to form a new government on its own, so attempts to form a coalition one are underway.

Former Macedonian parliament speaker Stojan Andov said the new parliament will have to take urgent steps to end the political crisis.

"It is crucial that we have a new government that will take us further from the current position," Andov told Xinhua in Skopje.

For this, Macedonia needed a government that will have the support of at least 61 lawmakers in the assembly, preferably even more, he said.

"Because its majority is likely to be slim, it will need to give urgent priority to reforms needed to take the country forward," he added.

According to Macedonian legal provisions, the new government should be formed and approved by the parliament before Feb. 10.

"The government of a wide coalition, that will include all parties, might be the most adequate solution to the current political deadlock in Macedonia," said Aleksandar Spasov, professor at the Faculty of Law in Skopje.

Both VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM have claimed that they are attempting to reach the 61-votes needed to lead a future cabinet. Endit